


The Rainbow Room (Stranger Things AU)

by viiuokii



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stranger Things Fusion, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst, Bisexual Mike Wheeler, F/F, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Gay Will Byers, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016), M/M, billy's still a dick but don't worry he's not around much, elmax - Freeform, i got the name Ellie Jane from a story i read once and i thought it was cute, its gay, me and my friend have a joke where we ship jonathan and steve don't come for me, not heavy angst but it's good enough, they're a dynamic duo, um yeah it's a witch au, will and el talk a lot in this, will and eleven are wholesome, will byers deserved better, will has a crush on mike, will isn't as sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-05-31 13:11:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19426663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viiuokii/pseuds/viiuokii
Summary: This is the story of how Ellie Jane Hopper, a witch, accidentally summons a super cute demon who goes by the name Max Mayfield.Jopper is a thing in this story and they're married, and they run a bit of a refuge home for kids with magical powers. After discovering what their kids have and when they find out their friends have the same problems, they take them in to protect them from the world. None of the kids in the house are related in any way besides Eleven, Will, and Jonathan, just to put that out there! And yes, I got the name "Ellie Jane Hopper" from a story i read once, if I find the creator and the story I'll put it here!





	1. Metaphysics and Introductions [Prologue]

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is my first fic here on Archive, and I decided to make it Elmax because those two hang out so much in season 3 and I'm living for it. There's a bit of Stonathan in here, mostly for jokes between me and my friend, but I can't lie that I ship it a little bit. I'm not entirely sure how long this story's gonna be but I'm hoping to update it whenever I can! I hope you enjoy!

Ellie Jane Hopper wasn’t your average girl. In fact, she was far from average. Not everyone carried around a little spell book or a black cat named Jinx. No, only those entitled to the study of metaphysical energy would carry any kind of spell book around. And that’s exactly what Miss Ellie Jane was. Ellie Jane was a witch. Yes, that sounds crazy, right? But this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  
This wasn’t the only thing about El that wasn’t average. Ellie Jane lived in a house with 8 other people, not counting her guardians Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers. Jim and Joyce had been married for about a year now, and Ellie Jane was now bound to her brothers by marriage: William Byers and Jonathan Byers, who lived in the house as well (obviously). It all started when Hopper had first found Ellie Jane, or known as Eleven at the time. Hopper and Joyce had been friends since high school, and even though they were far away from each other in living spaces they still kept in touch; letters, phone calls, occasional meet-ups. Once Hopper discovered El’s ability of telekinesis, much similar to that of The Force from the classic Star Wars saga, he had kept it a secret until Joyce dialed him up one day, explaining that her son Will had been showing signs of moving things without even touching them, and that he often felt a connection with a girl far away. Hopper and Joyce discovered that the connection was one of telepathy between Ellie Jane and Will Byers. They had only been 8 at the time.  
Hopper and Ellie Jane had moved to Joyce’s small town in New Jersey after this discovery and moved in with Joyce and the boys. Ellie Jane and Will had instantly hit it off; at dinner they would laugh and snort at the messages they were sending each other telepathically, and they would have battles to see who could lift the heaviest thing without getting a nosebleed.  
About a year later Will had come home crying, exclaiming something about one of his and Ellie Jane’s best friends, Michael Wheeler. He was saying that he was moving away, or rather, being taken away. After a ton of explaining and sobbing to Joyce and Hopper, the couple realized exactly what was going on: the Wheeler’s were trying to sell their children, who could quote, “reportedly move things without touching them,” much similar to Will and El’s situation, to the government for money and further testing.  
This is what led Joyce and Hopper to open up a bit of a refuge home for children who were troubled much like the Wheeler children were, a home that the children called “The Rainbow Room.” It started with Will bringing the Wheeler kids back to his house, only saying they were “having a play date.” Little did the Wheeler’s know that they would never see their children again.  
This led the household to move to Hawkins, Indiana, to hide from the government. Joyce had contemplated doing this as she stated it was “stealing kids” but Hopper said it was to protect them, which was entirely true and the Wheeler kids wanted to come with them in the first place. The Wheeler kids consisted of Mike, Nancy, and Holly Wheeler. Mike was now 14, Holly was 8, and Nancy was 18.  
When they had gotten settled, Will made it a point to get to know what Mike could do, and Joyce told him that was a good idea. Ellie Jane had kept the girls company, but she realized that they didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. It was later assumed that, after Will confirmed that Mike could in fact move things with his mind, the Wheelers didn’t know that only one of their children had powers, but now Joyce and Hopper had to keep Nancy and Holly, but they didn’t mind and neither did the girls; especially Ellie Jane since she’d have some company that wasn’t only boys.  
Any kids that were brought to live in The Rainbow Room weren’t related at all, considering it wasn’t like Joyce and Hopper adopted them all. And the house grew on to carry many lives.  
Next was Lucas Sinclair. He was kicked out of his house when he was 10, a year after the Wheeler’s kids incident happened. Lucas was one of Will, Mike and Ellie Jane’s friends that they had made at their school. They were the only ones who knew about Lucas’s powers; he also had telekinesis. The kids never understood why it was only ever the power to manipulate things with their minds, but they always thought maybe there was something greater that they had to awake within them. When Lucas was kicked out once he accidentally closed his room door after his sister with his powers, the children took him to The Rainbow Room, and Joyce and Hopper instantly took him in, adding a new addition to the refuge.  
The next person followed not even a few months after; Dustin Henderson. He was another one of the kids’ friends who had run away, knowing of The Rainbow Room and seeking help, as his parents discovered his abilities and wanted to sell him out, just like the Wheelers wanted to.  
The final addition to the household was none other than Steve Harrington, who was very advanced with his abilities and could manipulate much more than just energy, but fire as well. No, he couldn’t make fire appear but if a flame as present he could do anything he wanted with it. His father had been abusive, always using him instead of helping him The only help given to Steve was his father’s nagging him to train, train, train. Steve grew up thinking it was to benefit him but it was later discovered that his father only wanted to sell him to some lab institution for money. Steve ran away to Joyce and Hopper’s little getup, where Jonathan Byers, his good friend along with Nancy, had told him to come stay.  
Jonathan Byers, how could we forget him? He’s in the same boat as his brother Will, except like Steve, he can manipulate things other than energy, but the complete opposite: water. Given any sort of water source, Jonathan can make anything happen to it.  
After discovering all of these children and their abilities, Joyce and Hopper realized that they can teach these kids more than what they knew, and for the children’s own benefit, of course. So one day, they went out and found a bunch of spell books. It was convenient since Joyce had once been a witch, a sorceress even, but she quit practicing after Jonathan’s birth. She dug out her old spell books that she had written herself and gave them to Ellie Jane, who had immediately started practicing after receiving a wand. Sounds like a cliche story, right? ‘Oh cool, the Stranger Things kids know witchcraft.’ I’m afraid it’s much more than that. Metaphysics and introductions aren’t all that’s going to happen in this little story.


	2. Accidental Spells and Near Heart Attacks [Chapter One]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm posting the first chapter pretty fast after the prologue but I figured maybe having an actual chapter out other than the prologue would be nice. This chapter is definitely a bit longer than the prologue so I hope you guys like it! Just a small warning; there is a bit of strong language in this story starting from this chapter so just keep that in mind!

“Pfft, yeah, okay Ellie Jane. If you really think you can make that ball disappear and reappear, I’m here for it,” Will Byers, 14, was saying to Ellie Jane who was aged the same.

“I will. Watch me, fool.”

With much concentration, El tapped three times quickly on the ball, making it pop into an oblivion. Will wasn’t surprised- it was whether she could bring it back that was the question.

After a few seconds, El tapped three times again; nothing happened. She tapped another three times, maybe two was it? Four? Five? El threw down her wand when nothing was happening.

“I’m telling you, just put on the robes-”

“Will I swear to the stars I’m not putting on that stupid wizard costume,” El shoved Will playfully, and that’s when Mike came in.

“Sorry to interrupt anything ladies, but lunch is ready. Steve made it,” Mike leaned against the door frame. They heard a faint “c’mon losers!” from downstairs from Dustin, which made Will snort.

“Sure, let’s go Ellie Jane. Maybe when you come back the ball will be there.”

“You guys are still trying that old trick?” Mike scoffed, nudging Will as they walked downstairs. “You should just have Steve or Jon help you, they’re pretty good with their magic.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s always Steve with you,” Ellie Jane rolled her eyes, and Will laughed.

“I’m just sayin’ facts,” Mike shrugged, pulling out a chair.

“Facts? About?” Steve set sandwiches in front of the kids as they sat down.

“Oh, Ellie Jane just can’t make a ball reappear,” Will said, and El kicked him under the table.

“Tough. You’ll get it,” Steve glanced over at the living room where Jonathan was. “Wise guy over there couldn’t get it until, like, last year.”

“Oh shut the hell up, you know very well that I got it within seven months of training. Fuck you,” Jonathan yelled from the living room.

Steve snickered. “Just be patient, kid.”

El only nodded, still frustrated. They had started training with spells about a year ago, why wasn’t she getting this? Will could do it, Mike could do it.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Jane,” Lucas took a bite from his sandwich, lettuce falling from his mouth as he spoke. “You’ve got this.”

“Yeah, but I don’t.” El picked at the crust on her sandwich. “Steve, can I just have-”

“Eggos? Hell no, Jane? You’re gonna fucking OD on those things, eat something beneficial to your health,” Steve said quickly. “Lucas, don’t speak with your damn mouth full, it’s gross.”

Lucas only shrugged. “Sure, mom.”

Nancy, who was reading a book at the bar in the kitchen, laughed quietly at the comment.

“Hey Wheeler, where’s the tot?” Steve asked as he put the condiments away.

“Ah, somewhere,” Mike and Nancy said at the same time without looking up from eating/reading. 

“Where’s my sandwich?” Jonathan called from the living room. 

“Come make it yourself, you bitch,” Steve replied back. “The nerve of that guy.”

“I heard that!” Jonathan came bolting through the kitchen, the water in the sink with the dishes whirling at Steve, who let out a yell and jumped over the bar, running away as Jonathan chased him. All the kids looked at each other but only turned their attention back to their food. 

“Well that was fucking gay,” Mike mumbled.

“Language!” Nancy hissed.

“Oh, okay then. Like you haven’t sworn before,” Mike retorted, and Nancy stuck out her tongue, Mike following suit.

“What’s all this commotion?” Joyce Byers walked through the door, carrying groceries and Will jumped up to help her carry the numerous bags. Of course he didn’t actually carry them, he used his magic to carry them over to the counter.

“Just Steve being stupid,” Dustin shook his head, finishing off his sandwich. “I’m gonna go biking, anyone wanna join me?”

Lucas and Mike stood from their seats, nodding at each other in approval before following Dustin out the back door.

“Just don’t go into the city!” Joyce called after them. She wasn’t too worried; they knew what to do.

As Will started walking away to follow, pulling Ellie Jane with him, Hopper’s voice filled the room.

“You two can’t go out. Jane is far too behind in her studies to go play.”

El cringed at the word “play.” They didn’t play anymore, they “hang out.”

“What? Why not?” El exclaimed, her hand still in Will’s.

“Like I said, you’re behind,” Hopper closed the door behind him. 

“I’m perfectly fine! I just have a few loops to work out, other than that I’m-”

“Go study. End of story,” Hopper raised his voice slightly, pointing upstairs. “Will, help her. Please.”

Will only nodded, and El ripped her hand from his as she stomped off upstairs, and Will quickly followed after her.

“I mean, maybe it’s a good thing you’re studying! And- look! The ball’s back, Ellie Jane!” Will pointed at the stool in the center of the room, revealing a blue ball.

“Yeah, about 10 minutes too late, Will,” El frowned, slamming the door shut behind them when they were in, not turning back as she flicked her hand in the direction. 

“But, still! It- it- Ellie Jane, what are you doing?” Will dropped his arms to his sides. 

“Not studying. I’ll show him, ‘far behind’ my ass,” Ellie Jane scooped up Jinx, her black cat, into the small carrier she had, shoving on her pointy hat that drooped in the back- her favorite hat. It matched well with her white and black striped sweater.

“What are you gonna do?” Will asked, his fingers fiddling with eachother.

“Will you come with me or no?” She asked, throwing a small book bag on her shoulders.

“I-” Will knew there was no stopping Ellie Jane when she was dead set on something and this was one of those times. “Sure. Just don’t get us killed.”

Ellie Jane stomped through the woods, not stopping no matter how many whimpers were heard behind her from Will such as “what the hell, Jane,” and “I swear to god we’re gonna get killed this is it.” El had only rolled her eyes and continued on until she found a little opening with trees all around. 

“This is it,” El threw down her bag and set the bag that Jinx was in on the floor, letting her out.

“Oh. Great,” Will said sarcastically. “You gonna tell me what your plan is now?”

“Hopper. I’m gonna show him by using one of the spells in one of Joyce’s books. Then he’ll see me as ‘caught up’.”

Will blinked. 

“You’re gonna  _ what??”  _ Will hissed.

El ignored him, flicking open the small, beaten spellbook. 

“You’re insane.”

Ellie Jane read quickly, pulling things from her bag that she would need.

“What is  _ wrong with you??” _

She threw a bunch of sticks in a pile.

“Ellie Jane what the hell!”

El lit a match and threw it on the pile of sticks.

“You’re not actually doing this. Haha funny prank, let’s go now.”

El then threw in a few daisies, along with poison ivy that she found nearby. With that, she started saying a bout of words, words not written or spoken in the English dialect. Will flicked his head from side to side and his eyes were wide as El continued on, genuinely serious about this. He had no clue what spell she was even attempting to cast but he knew he had to stop her from casting it. When the fire started flipping and spooning and turning dark green, he knew he had to do something.

Will leaped at El, knocking her down along with her words and the book. The fire didn’t cease; it festered instead.

“Will what the hell?? You messed me up!” Ellie Jane hissed, but Will’s attention was focused on the fire that was turning an angry red color.

“Uh, Ellie Jane? What’s happening?”

El turned to look at the upset mess in front of her, when suddenly a loud yell erupted from the flames. Their eyes widened as they continued to watch what seemed like a birth but of something much more sinister than an infant. 

No, not an infant at all, in fact, a whole  _ girl  _ came out of the fire, and her hair was a fiery orange color. El was sure her eyes were gonna catch on fire just looking at it. The girl’s ears were pointed at the tip, and her eyes were a brilliant blue despite everything around her burning red. Along with fashionable clothes (a striped top with high-waisted shorts), a long, barbed-end tail flicked behind her as she gained her balance, standing in front of El and Will.

They all looked at eachother and El thought she would combust. This girl was so pretty but she was-

“ _ A goddamn demon!” _ Will’s mouth was open, and Ellie Jane punched him in the arm.

“Yeah, that’s right. Who the hell are you losers?” The demon- the  _ pretty  _ demon, in El’s opinion- spoke harshly.

“I-I’m Jane Hopper, but you can call me Ellie Jane,” El stood up quickly. “O-or just El. That works too.”

“I’m Will. Uh- Will Byers. I’m her brother. By marriage. It’s weird,” Will stood up as well.

“Alright. So why am I here, huh?”

“We uh, accidentally summoned you with a spell,” Will spoke since Ellie Jane was far too deep in shock to say a thing.

“You  _ what??” _ Fire flew up behind the girl. “Well, get me the fuck home! I was having a nice meal before you bozos pulled me through a wormhole, which was fucking terrifying, by the way.” 

“Get you home?” Will turned to El. “Jane, can we do that? Jane??”

Ellie Jane was far too entranced by the way this girl’s hair would move and fly everytime she moved her head to respond. 

“Uh-” El shook her head slightly after Will nudged her. “W-what’s your name?”

“Unimportant,” Well, Unimportant. That’s what we’ll call her. “I need to get back home. Do you fools have any idea what happens to the portal back home if it isn’t opened again within three days?”

El and Will shook their heads.

“It closes! And I won’t be able to get back unless I… well, take someone’s life,” Unimportant mumbled the last bit. “And I don’t want to have to do that, but I won’t hesitate to kill one of you!”

El’s eyes widened. “W-we can figure something out I’m sure! I’ve just gotta find another spellbook, I can’t find anything in this one-”

“Well do it quickly then. I cannot fucking believe this,” Unimportant folded her arms, her eyes burning fire and her tail whipping angrily behind her. Ellie Jane thought it was really cute.

“S-sure. Do you want to come back with Will and I?” El asked.

“No. I can manage myself, thank you. Maybe I can possess someone, I don’t know,” Unimportant looked off the hill where they were stood, off into the city.

“You’re not thinking about going into the city are you?” When Will tried to grab Unimportant’s shoulder, his hand went right through her.

“I’m not a physical manifestation, genius. Not yet, anyway. That’s why it’s crucial you buffoons get me home.” 

“So why can’t you just go through the ground back to the underworld?” Ellie Jane asked, but really she didn’t want her to go that quickly.

“Oh, believe me, if it worked like that, I would already be long gone,” Unimportant hissed. Ellie Jane frowned.

Before El could say anything else, Unimportant was fizzling into a cloud of red dust and heading off towards the city.

After a minute of staring off where Unimportant used to be, Ellie Jane packed up her cat, her book, and slung everything over her shoulder quickly, walking fast back to the house. 

“Oh, good. Home sweet home,” Will sighed with relief, but when Ellie Jane started moving faster he knew she was on another mission. “Oh dear god Jane what now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the first chapter! Constructive criticism and whatnot is always a help, and I would love to know what you guys think! We got a bit of ol Steve action as well as the other characters and actual dialogue in this chapter.


	3. Places and Faces [Chapter Two]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the third part! Also oh my gosh I finished watching season three and it was A LOT but don't worry, this story doesn't at all link to season three so if you're worried about spoilers don't worry about it! Oh, another thing, I have an instagram where I post art, it's @/_night_li! I hate to do a plug but I'll be posting art of this AU eventually. Anyway, onto the story! There's a bit more Elmax in this story as well, so for all of you out there mourning over season three like I am, here's some nice reading. :)

“We have to find her again. Whether we have a spell or not, I want to see her again,” El smiled to herself, then wondered what a smile would look like on Unimportant.

“You’re crazy. You should just forget about her. Zip, zap, zop,” Will smacked his hands together with every word of his last statement.

“And what, have her kill us because we couldn’t get her home? We need her around to test stuff, I can’t just do this alone. Plus, this is your fault! I would’ve been fine if you didn’t knock me over!” Ellie Jane whipper around, shooting a finger at Will.

“I couldn’t just let you cast a spell on your dad!” Will wrung his hands together. “I didn’t think it would turn into something like ...this!”

Ellie Jane scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna help me find her whether you want to or not.”

Will sighed dramatically. “Can we at least take Steve?”

“Take me where?” And as if on cue, there was Steve, playing with a match, seemingly about to light it. Not with the box, no, but instead with his skin. 

“Ellie Jane released a d-” El slapped a hand over Will’s mouth and stepped in front of him. 

“I need to find someone in the city. I’ve run into a bit of a circumstance.”

“She tried to cast a spell on Hopper!” Will squeaked, and El shot him a glare.

‘ _ I’m going to kill you.’  _ She sent telepathically.

_ ‘I’m sorry alright what’s Steve gonna do anyway?’ _

“Stop doing that weird ass telepathy thing with each other, it’s gross,” Steve struck the match against his forearm, the match catching fire and not a single mark was left on his skin. “And why the hell did you do that?”

“She  _ tried  _ to. I stopped her,” Will said triumphantly. 

“Well that’s not very smart, _ Will the Wise _ . You know what that does, don’t you? It’s classic Wizarding 101. I thought you were taught the first damn week,” Steve pushed his sunglasses up on his hair.

“I-I mean no, no I didn’t know. But we sure found out..” Will mumbled.

“I’m sorry,  _ what?” _ Steve sat on the edge of the lawn chair.

“Uh-” Ellie Jane spoke up finally, “Is the consequence of not finishing a spell summoning a demon?”

“Depends on the spell,” Steve’s eyes narrowed. “Jane what the fuck did you do? Aren’t you supposed to be studying?”

“Yes! Shut up!” El hissed. “I tried to prove that I could actually do something other than move things with my mind, but Will fucked me up!”

“Watch your fucking language. But we need to find that demon and get it home. Do you know where it went?”

“Yes, the city, as I stated before,” El frowned. 

“Welp, so much for that,” Steve stood up, folding his lawn chair. 

“Uh, what?” El almost yelled. “Steve, we have to find her!”

“Oh so it’s a her, huh? Interesting. Name?”

“She said ‘Unimportant.’” Ellie Jane could hear it in her voice.

“Hm. That’s what they always say,” Steve shook his head. “But you know that we can’t go into the city. This whole goddamn country is still on about the Wheelers’ disappearances, and there are government operatives everywhere.”

“Who said we would take Mike?” Will crossed his arms. “We can’t take anyone else. Especially Mike.”

“I get it, you don’t want your boyfriend hurt,” Steve said and Will’s face burnt up, “Which is why we can’t go. It’s a lost cause.”

“Steve,  _ please!”  _ El walked after Steve as he walked upstairs, setting his lawn chair down in his and Jonathan’s room.

Steve looked at Ellie Jane for a moment or two and suddenly he got a telepathic message.

_ ‘Let’s take ‘em. My mom and Hopper are out anyway, what’s gonna happen?’ _

Steve looked over to see Jonathan sitting on his bed, not looking up from the book his face was in.

_ ‘I fuckin hate you.’ _

“Sure, let’s go,” Steve sighed, pulling his glasses over his eyes. “Grab some spellbooks. I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve but not a lot.”

Jonathan rose from the bed and snickered as he put his book on the nightstand next to his bed. 

“You’re coming too? But mom-” Will started.

“-isn’t here,” Jonathan finished, tapping Will’s forehead. 

Will shook his head as everyone walked off. “Everyone is going crazy!”

And after throwing his arms up he followed the small group out the door and off to the city.

\--

“Stay close to each other and keep your hoods down,” Steve was telling them just as they were about to enter the city.

“Yeah yeah, we know,” El held Jinx close to her chest.

“Uh, sorry to break the ol’ ‘sneaking around’ immersion, but what if we run into Hopper and mom at the supermarket or something?” Will asked, wringing his hands together.

“We won’t,” Jonathan put Will’s hood up for him. Luckily it was a cold day so no one would suspect anything. “Steve and I do this all the time.”

“All the time,” Steve repeated.

“Catch demons in the city?” El asked.

“No. But… a few times,” Jonathan smirked over at Steve who shook his head.

“Yeah only like twice. Don’t be any kind of influence on them, you’re a terrible one no matter what you do,” Steve looked off into the city.

“She couldn’t have gone far, it was nearly 10 minutes ago,” Ellie Jane spoke up, throwing her hood over her face.

“Let’s get going, we don’t have time to waste,” Steve said, walking into the abyss of people. 

“Oh god,” Will clutched El’s hand and the two followed after Steve, Jonathan falling in behind them.

“How are we gonna get her?” El asked quietly. “She’s not solid.”

“She’ll just have to reason with us. We’ll tell her we know how to get her home and take her into the woods, then she’ll have to help us.”

“Basic plan, but okay,” El scoffed. 

As Ellie Jane looked around, she spotted Unimportant over by a small flower shop, smelling the roses.

_ ‘That’s so cute.’ _

_ ‘I can hear you.’ _

El turned to look at Will who had a big goofy smile on his face as he giggled.

_ ‘Yeah like I don’t hear your thoughts about Mike all the time.’ _

Will’s face didn’t fail to turn red.

“What did I say about that creepy mind shit?” Steve stood still, scanning the area.

“How do you know we do it?” El asked, appalled.

“His face always goes red and your eyes widen. It’s weird, stop it,” Steve knew he was a hypocrite and so did Jonathan as he shot Steve a look and rolled his eyes.

“She’s over by the flower stand,” El pointed, and everyone turned to where her finger was pointing.

“Jesus, you had to pick a teenager, huh? It couldn’t have been a kind old lady,” Steve sighed. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”

“I’ll talk to her,” El smiled, walking over to Unimportant.

She hesitated, but pulled her hood down.

“Um, hi,” She spoke, bouncing on her heels.

Unimportant turned quickly, with a flower in hand. Ellie Jane blushed and Unimportant looked down at the flower, tossing it to the ground and burning it by looking at it.

“Great. What do you want?” Unimportant hissed, her tail flicking mildly.

“Uh, we know how to get you home,” El’s hands clutched at Jinx.

“No you don’t, it hasn’t even been an hour yet. So why did you find me?” Unimportant folded her arms.

“Well, we can’t do this without your help, so I suggest you come with us,” El pointed behind her to Steve, Jonathan, and Will. They all waved.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Unimportant rolled her eyes, her arms falling to the sides of her. “Okay, whatever. Let’s do it.”

Ellie Jane smiled and led her back over to their small group.

“Okay, let’s go you losers. I don’t have a lifetime,” Unimportant said, scoffing when she saw Steve. “Dear god your hair is as big as the goddamn Eiffel Tower.”

Steve made a face. “Okay, but I’m not the only one with fucked up hair here, Redhead.”

Unimportant scowled, lifting her hand to send fire at Steve but all he did was catch it and hold it in his hand before quickly blowing it out. 

“We can’t do that shit in public, Red!” Steve hissed angrily. “You’re gonna get us hanged.”

Unimportant’s eyes were still wide as she stared at the spot where the fire used to be in Steve’s palm merely seconds earlier.

“Let’s go, I think I saw Hopper,” Jonathan pulled his hood down further, pulling Will’s down as well.

Steve nodded, looking back at Unimportant.

“I know how demons work, Red. Don’t think this is my first time in the rodeo.”

Unimportant nodded, having a new found respect for this guy she had just met.

Steve fell in front of the group, running and leading them out of the city, with the kids in the middle and Jonathan trailing behind, making sure no one was following them. 

\--

“God, this is taking YEARS,” Unimportant was sitting on a log, staring at the fire that Steve was playing with. “Are you tall guys gonna tell me your names or what?”

“I’m Steve, this is bowl cut’s brother, Jonathan,” Steve said without looking up, flicking his thumb over his shoulder to Jonathan. “What about yours, huh Red?”

“You don’t need that information. And don’t call me that,” She scowled.

“Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you gave us a name,” Steve shrugged. 

Unimportant muttered something and continued to stare at the fire.

_ ‘Go sit next to her.’ _

Ellie Jane looked over at Will who was sitting on the other side of Steve.

_ ‘I don’t know what if she throws me in the fire?’ _

She saw Will roll his eyes and smile a bit.

_ ‘I didn’t throw Mike in a fire when he came up to me.’ _

_ ‘Yeah, this is way different. Shut up.’ _

_ ‘It’s only a suggestion.’ _

Ellie Jane looked at Unimportant, and decided that yeah, she should converse with her, or at least attempt to. After all she brought her into this world.

“Hello,” she said as she slid next to Unimportant. Unimportant rolled her eyes. “Uh, sorry about this. If you need a place to stay you can stay with us.”

“Thanks but no thanks, freakshow. I’d much rather take my chances at a dingy hotel than stay with whatever get-up you guys have,” Unimportant turned back to the fire.

El frowned but before she could say anything else, Steve beat her to words.

“Pfft, no you wouldn’t. What happens when someone walks through you? You can only make yourself solid when you want to, and I doubt you do,” Steve threw sticks in the fire as Jonathan read multiple spell books at a time, reading one then picking up the other to check it’s sources, then back to the other. “You’d be better off staying with us.”

Unimportant showed no emotion or reaction to this statement.

“People aren’t…  _ all  _ magic here?” she asked, looking up at Steve with a bit of hurt on her face.

“No, in fact we’re seen as outcasts. That’s why you can’t do that flame shit in the town, people are fragile here. Maybe the future will be different,” Steve looked sadly into the fire. “But for now it's 1986, and these are the circumstances.”

There was a sad silence that fell over the group circle.

“If you’re found out there, they’ll find a way to kill you.”

“Not possible, I’ve already died,” El turned her gaze quickly to Unimportant’s when she said this.

_ “What?”  _ Her eyes were wide.

“I know that. But they’ll find a way. To banish your soul, or something,” Steve replied, not phased in the slightest by what she said.

She looked down, defeated. Did she really think people like them were accepted? Ellie Jane wanted to grab Unimportant’s hand but she wouldn’t be able to, as the second contact was made Unimportant would probably turn into a mere spirit again, leaving El touching nothing but the wood they were sitting on.

“It’s getting late,” Will said, despite the sun barely going down. “Mom and Hopper’s probably home.”

“He’s right,” Jonathan said, checking his watch and looking at Steve. “They’ll kill us both if they know we’re out.”

“Uh, hey! What about me?” Unimportant spoke as they got up.

“We’ve got two more days, relax, have some fun in this godforsaken world,” Steve said nonchalantly. 

“Yeah, for now just come to The Rainbow Room,” Jonathan said, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

“The what? Is that a gay euphemism?” Unimportant asked, standing up with El.

“Oh, that’s what we call the house as a code name,” Ellie Jane laughed.

“Weird. Whatever,” Unimportant folded her arms and walked after Steve and Jonathan, Ellie Jane falling next to her and Will running to be next to them.


	4. Unimportant Conversations, But They're Very Important to Ellie Jane Hopper [Chapter Three]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go boys another chapter of this story! We get a backstory on "Unimportant" and things get wild!

“And you can stay in this room, with Ellie Jane and Nancy,” Joyce had her hand through the doorway of the small room. 

The group had told Joyce about the situation, or at least- partially. All they said was that they found a new child with abilities and said that she was too anxious to say anything. Joyce had only nodded and led her up to Ellie Jane’s room. 

“Let me know if you need anything, sweetie,” Joyce smiled and with that she closed the door behind her.

Unimportant looked to the floor, smiling a little bit. El thought it was the cutest thing and smiled wide. Unimportant’s gaze flicked over to El.

“What?” She asked, her gaze turning serious.

“Nothing,” El lied, “Uh, what with you? What’s- what’s up? With you?” 

Unimportant shook her head but when she looked off to the side, Ellie Jane saw a small smile crack across her face. El smiled to herself; her awkwardness had somehow made Unimportant happy.

“Uh, I know you said your name was Unimportant but I would like to beg to differ,” Ellie Jane spoke quietly, sitting on her bed and patting the space next to her.

Unimportant rolled her eyes but still had that stifled smile on her face. Despite her being so pent up for most of the day, El was surprised when she sat next to her.

“It really doesn’t matter. What good is it to you anyway? I’m not here for even a week,” Unimportant muttered.

“Still. It would be good to call you something,” Ellie Jane laughed slightly. 

A moment or so of silence went by and Ellie Jane couldn’t stop thinking about how close they were to each other. She had literally just met this… this demon today and despite having to send her home in three days time, she was becoming greatly infatuated with her, even though everything that came from Unimportant’s mouth was negative.

“Max.”

“What?” Ellie Jane looked up at Unimportant, being torn out of her thoughts.

“Max. My name. Well technically it’s Maxine but we don’t talk about that,” Unimportant- or, rather- Max, was saying.

Ellie Jane’s eyes were wide as she heard Max ramble on about her name.

“Max. I like that,” she smiled, trying to get Max’s attention. “Uh, and… I’m sorry if this is too intrusive but you said you had died already?... How?” 

Max looked down, her tail suddenly whipping.

“Y-you don’t have to tell me,” Ellie Jane spoke quickly. “I was only wondering.”

Max looked up in surprise, surprised that someone showed compassion to her instead of being mad at her for wanting to keep secrets. She looked away sheepishly again when she saw El turn to her and her smile returned.

“It’s pretty late, how about some sleep? Do demons even sleep?” Ellie Jane asked the last part partially to herself but her eyes went wide as she heard Max giggle a little.

“Yes, we sleep. In fact it’s my favorite part of the day. It gets me away from my brother,” Max sighed.

“Your brother? You have a family?”

“Yes. He’s a pain in the ass, though. Always so mean to literally everyone. Hey, at least I know where I got it from,” Max laughed lightly but El only frowned.

“No, you’re not mean,” Ellie Jane paused. “Maybe a little. But this guy sounds, like, really mean.”

“He is, but it’s alright. I get to be away for a few days, right?” Max shrugged.

“Why don’t you just stay?”

The room fell silent for a few moments.

“I-” Max shook her head. “No. No, I can’t. It’s late. I’m tired. Where do I sleep?”

El looked around the room, finally letting out the breath she’s been holding in. 

“Y-you can just sleep in my bed. Unless you want to sleep on the floor,” Ellie Jane smiled warily at Max, who only shrugged.

“Sure,” Max replied, flopping down on her back.

El took a blanket from the closet and laid it out on the floor-

“Woah woah woah, what the hell are you doing?” Max sat up quickly. “Get up here, I’m not letting you sleep on the floor of your own home.”

El only blushed. 

“Well c’mon!” Max pulled El onto the bed, and El collapsed on top of her, letting out a laugh, and to her surprise she didn’t go straight through Max like she thought she would. The girls laughed a little bit and then Ellie Jane looked up to see Max smiling, and happy. This made Ellie Jane happy and she smiled warmly, not caring about anything else in the world at the moment other than Max. 

Max looked down at her and her face turned red and she looked away. Ellie Jane sat up and got herself comfortable a safe distance from Max and slowly drifted off.

“Hey, uh, Ellie Jane?”

El was surprise she remembered her name.

“Sorry about whatever shit I said. It would be nice to have a friend on Earth.”

Ellie Jane didn’t respond, she only smiled.

  
  


\--

Ellie Jane woke up the next morning, rolling over to see nothing but an empty spot next to her where Max used to be. El sat up, groggily looking around the room that was filled with light from the early morning. She saw that the door was cracked open slightly, and she stood up to walk through it and downstairs. On her way down she heard the muffled voices, mostly those of Steve’s, Jonathan’s, Nancy’s and Max’s. 

“Oh, look who decided to come and join us,” Steve piped up when he saw Ellie Jane standing at the edge of the stairs, sipping his cup which El could only assume had coffee in it.

“Maybe if you wouldn’t talk so damn loud,” Nancy had her feet kicked up on the coffee table, reading a magazine.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyway, it’s early kid, why are you up?” Steve asked.

Ellie Jane looked over at Max, who was staring right back at her with a bit of a shy appearance, one completely different than her usual appearance, but El wasn’t complaining. Max looked away, focusing on the table in front of her.

“Uh, yeah, you were talking really loud,” Ellie Jane didn’t want to admit that it was because there wasn’t a sort of warmth next to her, despite Max not being a real entity, she could still feel  _ something. _

“Ah, whatever,” Steve kicked Jonathan as he snickered. “Good morning, then.”

“Thanks,” El rolled her eyes and when Max moved over a bit she plopped herself down next to her.

“How’d you sleep?” El asked quietly when Nancy, Jonathan and Steve had picked up a conversation.

“Oh, yeah. I slept fine,” Max replied, nodding. “Definitely better than a bed of spikes.”

El looked at her with wide eyes. “What?”

“Oh yeah. My realm? We all sleep on beds of spikes and spiders. It’s awful.”

“Yeah, I’d imagine,” El couldn’t believe it, but then she heard Max start laughing.

“I’m messing with you,” Max laughed, nudging Ellie Jane.

El gave a light laugh. “Not cool. You really had me.”

“I could tell,” Max kicked her feet up on the table beside Nancy’s.

“My mom’s gonna kill you both if she saw this,” Jonathan shook his head, looking at Steve and Max.

“She’s yelled at you and I for worse things, Jon,” Steve sipped his coffee and Jonathan punched him in the arm, causing Steve to spill a bit of coffee on him.

_ “Steve!” _

Max and El looked at each other, a face that said  _ well that’s fuckin weird. _

“Uh, it’s cool having another girl around. I mean, besides Nancy. But she usually hangs out with Steve and Jon,” Ellie Jane turned back to Max after an awkward moment of silence between the small group on the couches.

“Is it? Me? Do I really classify as a girl?” Max asked sarcastically.

“Yes, you do,” El laughed. “And if you don’t then neither do I.”

They smiled at each other, then looked to the ground. Ellie Jane noticed how close they were and then wished she hadn’t, shaking her head a bit to stop thinking about it, but did it work? No. 

How could a girl show up in her life and within a day become the epicenter of her life? What she wants? It kind of sucked, actually.

“Jane.”

El looked up, startled that Max had spoken, especially in such a direct tone.

“Yes?”

There was a pause.

“You wanna maybe do something fun? I’ve only got another day and a few hours.”

Ellie Jane’s breath hitched a bit, her words getting caught in her throat as she tried to respond.

“Like what?”

“Follow me.”

And that’s exactly what Ellie Jane did. How could she not? It was Max.

Ellie Jane followed Max out back and stood next to her when she stopped to stand.

“I know we’ve, like, just met but,” Max looked up at the sky. “Do you trust me?”

“Trust you?”

“Do you?”

El stared into Max’s eyes. They were sincere. 

“Yes.”

“Okay, let’s have some fun.”

Max got closer to El and when she wrapped an arm around her El could’ve sworn she was gonna pass out. 

“I need you to hold onto me,” Max said, gripping firmly on Ellie Jane’s waist.

“Oh, okay,” El wrapped her arms around Max’s shoulders, holding on tightly, not entirely sure what was going to happen. 

“Ready?”

“I guess.”

And with that, El felt wind hit her face and gravity seemed to fall from underneath her, and she snapped her eyes shut, digging her face into the crook of Max’s neck, pulling her knees up. Her ears popped as they continued to go higher into the clouds, and the air hit El’s face quickly and the breath was taken from her lungs. 

Once El’s confidence built up and she realized that Max wouldn’t drop her, she peeled her face from her hiding spot and looked up to see Max laughing, her eyes closed and her face pressed up against the wind. 

“You can  _ fly?”  _ El smiled widely. “That’s  _ amazing!!” _

“I think so too,” Max stopped and hovered, using one hand to brush the hair from her face. “It’s better up here. More clean.”

“We sure are high up,” El felt a little faint but didn’t think much of it and shrugged it off. She was in Max’s arms, and that’s where she wanted to stay even if she were to die up here.

“Yeah, but what’s really fun is zooming around fast. Care to join me?” Max asked.

“Do I really have a choice?” El looked down. It was quite a drop.

“I guess not.” And again, there they went, but this time they were dipping and swinging, hitting close to the ground before shooting back up again. This little trip was full of “woooaaahhh!!”’s and “don’t drop me don’t drop me!”’s. At one point Max had gotten really far into the clouds and let go of El when she least expected it. Ellie Jane’s heart had dropped and she was pretty sure she was dead, and her smile had faded into a frown as she screamed, her eyes wide before shutting them. The air was taken from her lungs and she could no longer scream; this was it. The end of her story.

Just as she thought it was all over a pair of hands grabbed her’s, and she was yanked up, and when she opened her eyes she saw that she was far from the ground and back with Max.

“What the HELL?” Ellie Jane screamed.

Max was laughing, a huge smile on her face.

“You really thought I would let you die? How would I get home?”

El laughed with her as they flew through the air, the wind whipping her shoulder-length hair back behind her. After a little while, Max brought them back to the house and set Ellie Jane down on a flat patch of the roof, sitting next to her.

“My face feels like it was lasered off and sewed back on,” Ellie Jane laughed.

“That’s how it is when you go flying for the first time,” Max smiled.

“Steve can fly, I mean of course he can. It’s Steve,” El rolled her eyes. “But uh, that was fun.”

“I know,” Max nodded. 

“It’s crazy that I trusted you,” El nudged Max’s arm with a laugh.

“I know.”

They sat in comfortable silence as the sun continued to go up. El looked over at Max and smiled slightly to herself as she watched Max’s eyes shimmer as the sunlight slowly hit them. 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the sunrise like this,” Max chimed quietly, breaking the silence.

“Oh?” El continued to look at Max despite Max looking ahead.

“7 years ago,” Max started, “My brother and I decided to go out. I mean, he forced me to, but that’s besides the point.”

Ellie Jane nodded along.

“We were walking through the city of Los Angeles, and I’m sure everyone knows that LA isn’t the safest place. But my brother was involved with some bad people. And when I say bad, I mean  _ bad  _ bad. I was never entirely sure what it was but I don’t care enough to sit around and try to figure it out and I’m definitely  _ not  _ going to ask him about it.”

El looked down at Max’s hand that was on the side of her, propping her up. She wanted to grab it, but of course, she didn’t.

“Well, long story short they shot us. Not before saying this wack shit that even I can’t place. It was like they were speaking in Egyptian Hieroglyphics or something. But anyway,” Max shook her head, “All I’m guessing is that they banished our souls to the fucking underworld, and it pisses me off. So now I’m here.”

Ellie Jane’s eyes were wide. She wanted Max to turn and say “SIKE!” but she didn’t. 

“Max I… I’m so sorry, that’s-”

“Awful?” Max turned to El, no misfortune on her face. “It would be, wouldn’t it? But living ‘life’ down there isn’t too bad.”

“Isn’t it like hell?”

“That’s a common mistake people make often. But no, it’s not.”

“Well…,” Ellie Jane looked down at her feet that were dangling from 

the roof. “What is it like?”

“Basically like normal life. Except I don’t breathe. I got this wicked bullet hole though.” Max peeled up her shirt to reveal four holes that went straight through her side. “I guess you could call me ‘undead.’”

“Do you eat?”

“Only if I become a physical manifestation. Same thing with breathing. The logic is extremely weird.” 

“Oh.” Ellie Jane smiled a little. “Would you… ever want to live here again? On earth, I mean.”

“Depends,” Max shrugged. 

_ Depends.  _ Hm. Ellie Jane thought that was interesting. 

“What the  _ hell  _ are you kids doing up on the  _ roof?”  _ Steve called from down below, looking up at El and Max.

“Having fun,” El smiled down at him.

“Well get the fuck down, you’re scaring the shit out of me. If Joyce finds your bodies dead it’ll be  _ my  _ body that someone else finds dead,” Steve walked away, crossing his arms.

“I guess we should go inside, I can show you my cat?” Ellie Jane suggested.

“Sure, I’m down for that,” Max nodded, and grabbed El’s hand before jumping off of the roof. Well, it was more like a float, since just straight up jumping would resort in breaking something. Max let El lead the way into the house and up to her room. 


	5. Weird Vibes After Sunrise [Chapter Four]

“Steve’s interesting,” Max was telling El as she ran her hand down Jinx’s fur. 

“How so?” Ellie Jane asked. 

“I guess,” Max pulls her shoulders up to her chin and lets them go, “He kinda gives me like… a vibe.”

“A vibe? What kind of vibe?”

“Just like… a weird vibe. Not a bad vibe, just not one that humans give off.”

Ellie Jane didn’t quite understand but she wasn’t about to ask. Instead she would wait until Max elaborated on it. But when she didn’t get an elaboration she decided to put the words in her mouth. 

“Elaborate. Please.”

Max hesitated but sighed, signaling that she was in fact going to speak. 

“I don’t know. I can’t really explain it. Why does he wear those sunglasses all the time?”

Ellie Jane frowned. Come to think of it, every time she saw Steve he was wearing sunglasses, and it was only when he was with Jon that he wasn’t, and when someone would come around he would either flick them onto his face and only sometimes would he keep them down. 

“Maybe he just has ugly bags under his eyes. The guy never sleeps.”

Max’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“He doesn’t sleep?”

“That’s what we all think.”

Max was silent. El heard a small “hm” from her but she stood up. 

“Ah whatever. He might just be creepy.”

Ellie Jane laughed. “Yeah, alright.”

Max held out her hand and El took it, being lifted from the floor by the girl she so adored. 

“What now?” Max asked. “You should introduce me further to everyone else. Like that dorky brother of yours with the bowl cut.”

“Oh, Will? Sure. I’ll also introduce you to everyone else in the party.” Ellie Jane grasped Max’s hand and pulled her along downstairs. “They’re hopefully up, it‘s nearly the afternoon.”

“So this is Will and Mike’s room, they’ve shared it since I can remember. I’m pretty sure they have it out for eachother if you know what I mean.” El said and Max laughed, and when she did it seemed to light up El’s whole world. 

She gave the door a brisk knock. 

“Who is it?” Will’s polite voice called through the door. 

“Just El. Oh, and Max.” Max nudged El as if to say “nearly forgot me?”

“Come in,” Mike’s voice sounded through the door as well. 

El smiled at Max before twisting the doorknob and walking in. They saw Dungeons and Dragons laid out on the ground and the boys were in front of it, and there was Will in his wizard robes. 

“Oh god,” El rolled her eyes as Max let out a laugh. 

“What do you guys want?” Mike asked in an annoyed tone.

“Just wanted to introduce you. Mike, this is Max. She’s-“

“The demon you summoned? Yeah, Will told me all about it. We’re in the middle of something,” Mike waved them away with his hand, but as he did so, his hand caught on fire and he gasped. El smiled widely at Max, and Mike scowled.

The girls left somewhat respectively and moved on to Lucas and Dustin’s room. 

“Knock knock,” El said, walking through the doorway.

“Oh, hey ladies,” Dustin smiled, and so did a girl who was sitting on the right side of Dustin on a little couch while Lucas took the left. “Suzie, you know El. This is the demon she summoned-”

“Max,” Max interjected. “I’m Max.”

“Hi Max!” she said sweetly. “It’s so nice to meet you!”

“That’s Dustin’s girlfriend, Suzie,” El smiled.

“Hey Max, I’m Lucas,” Lucas stood up, putting his NES controller down. 

“Hello Lucas, pleasure to meet you,” Max curved her lips a bit.

_ I make her smile more than anyone.  _

“Let’s chat with Nancy now, you’ll like her. She’s Mike’s older sister. Mike also has a younger sister, Holly, but she’s at a friend’s,” El took Max’s hand and led her to the living room where Nancy usually resided most of the time, reading magazines and whatnot. 

“Nancy, you remember Max from this morning,” El continued to hold Max’s hand, and a smile couldn’t be taken from her face anytime soon. 

“Oh, for sure. It’s nice having you around, even if you’re going to leave soon. It’s good to see Ellie Jane have a girlfriend to hang out with that’s her age,” Nancy smiled, closing her magazine slightly.

Ellie Jane blushed at the word  _ girlfriend  _ but realized that Nancy only meant it as a girl that’s a friend, and that’s all they were and ever would be. 

_ But Ellie Jane wanted much more than that. _

She became saddened at the mention of Max leaving, in fact very soon-

“Wait, when is it that I leave again?” Max asked, and El frowned further when she dropped her hand.

“Uh, probably sometime really soon, dunno,” Nancy looked back at her magazine. 

Max frowned, worry evident in her eyes, and she stormed out of the back sliding glass door.

“Max?” El walked after her, jogged even, to keep up with her. “Max! Where are you going?”

“To find that Steve guy,” Max hissed, walking fiercely around the outside of the house. “We gotta make sure we have that spell, I have to get home.”

“What if you didn’t?” El said, stopping in her tracks. The words had left her mouth so abruptly that she hadn’t even realized she said anything.

Max turned around sharply. “I’m sorry,  _ what?” _

Ellie Jane’s step faltered as she walked closer to Max, the wind whipping her hair. “I thought you would’ve stayed,” she said quietly. “There’s a lot more for you here, isn’t there?”

Max was silent and her brow was furrowed.

“That’s really bold of you to assume, El. I have a family,” Max said.

“No offense at all Max but,” Ellie Jane hesitated, “you don’t have much of one.”

Max’s eyes widened.

“I thought maybe… maybe you and I could live together and chill for… for the rest of our lives,” El’s eyes watered and her face burned. “I’ve known you for like, what, three days? Barely even? And I’ve already become really accustomed to you. I really like you.”

Max looked down.

“I- … are you serious?” Max spoke quietly.

“Yes, Max! I’m serious!” El said, letting tears trail down her face. “But now you wanna leave, leave me behind, which really sucks, I might as well be dead!”

“What do you expect me to do? You really just expected me to stay because some girl likes me?” Max flailed her arms up.

“I don’t know!”

“Well that’s really annoying, Jane!”

“I know but if you just stayed-”

“No!”

And with that, a gust of fire shot from Max’s hands and El was smacked up against the wall.

“Oh my god, Jane, I-”

“Hey!” 

When Max turned her head in the direction of which she heard the familiar voice, she saw Will with his arm outstretched and his nose bleeding, and Max was blown back away from Ellie Jane.

“Jane!” Will cried, running to her. “Jane, are you okay? What have you-” but when Will turned around, Max was nowhere to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might be asking yourself "what's so interesting about Steve?" There are answers to that, so be looking out for the sequel to this story!


	6. Spare a Tissue? I've Got an Issue [Chap. Five]

“She ran off, Will,” El sobbed into her hands while she sat on her bed, Will beside her. “She could be anywhere.”

“You’re just over analyzing things, Jane. I’m sure she just went to find Steve, if she really wants to get home. I mean you might not ever see her again-”

“Not helping, Will,” Ellie Jane frowned.

“Sorry,” Will grabbed El’s hand. “I just want you to know the truth. That’s all.”

“It’s always been that way with you, dork.” Ellie Jane smiled weakly, sniffing. “Uh, what you did back there. You didn’t have to do it.”

“No, I didn’t, and I’m sorry, maybe she wouldn’t have run off. But my instincts told me something was up.”

“How’d you get out of those robes so quickly?” El teased.

“Shut up,” Will laughed. “But I _am_ good at wardrobe change.”

They laughed together, as they’ve been for the past several years.

“I’m sorry, Jane.” Will said after a moment of silence and staring at the ground.

“It’s alright. I’m just glad she can go home.”

“You are?”

“Well I mean,” Ellie Jane started, “Of course. She deserves to go home. In fact she deserves the world.”

“You really do like her, huh?” Will asked.

Ellie Jane nodded, another tear falling from her eye. “Yes. I did.”

“Liking people who are oblivious is hard,” Will sighed, looking at the door.

“Mike?” El looked up at Will. “If so, he definitely knows. He never shuts up about you when you’re not around. Plus he flirts with you  _ all  _ the time.”

Will’s face reddened. “You’re serious?”

“Yes, would I lie to you?” Ellie Jane smiled.

“Well-”

“Don’t answer that.”

There was a pause.

“You should go for it.”

“What?” Will asked, exasperated. “No way, we live in the same house, isn’t that weird?”

“It’s not like you guys are foster siblings or anything. You guys just live under the same roof, that’s all.” Ellie Jane explained.

Will’s lips curved a bit.

“Plus look at Jon and Steve-”

“My brother and Steve? I know we make jokes but you really think they would be-”

“Well I don’t know but I see them flirt with eachother all the time.”

“Friends can flirt, can’t they?” Will asked innocently.

“William you’re hopeless.” El shook her head. “It doesn’t really matter. All I’m saying is that it wouldn’t be too hard to acquire him. He’s probably interested too.”

“Eh, maybe someday,” Will shrugged. “I enjoy having him as a best friend, and I really don’t want to mess anything up.”

El nodded agreeably. “I don’t blame you.”

A few more moments of silence passed.

“You’re thinking about her, huh?” Will asked quietly.

El nodded. “I just hope she’s okay.”

\--

“Hey, buster.” Max spoke loudly, walking briskly up to Steve who she had finally found in the alleyway next to a small store, smoking a cigarette. “I’ve gotta get home.”

“Oh shit, is it really that time?” Steve pretended to look at a watch that wasn’t there. “Suppose it is.”

“You’re high.” Max scowled.

“No, I’m not. I just don’t care.” Steve took another drag. “I don’t even smoke to get high, I do it to look cool.”

Max couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Either way she shook her head. “Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.” She couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened not even 30 minutes ago. Was El okay? Did she hate her now? If Max was to go back what would happen? She kept thinking about Ellie Jane and just wanted to get home, act like nothing ever happened and forget about it.

“Woah woah woah there chick,” Steve put up a hand. “It’s not that simple. I’ll call Jon up to help.”

“Do we really need that stupid boyfriend of your’s to hep us? It’s a spell, how intricate could it be?” 

“Hey, he is  _ not  _ stupid, kid. And I’d watch that mouth of yours, talking about spells and shit,” Steve leaned in as he spoke, “you’ll get us killed.”

“Yeah yeah whatever. Let’s just go please?” Max hissed. 

“Fine. Let’s go,” Steve threw his cigarette on the ground and snubbed it out. 

As they were walking to the spot in the woods, Max kept replaying the events of the evening in her head, over and over again. 

_ ‘I like you a lot.’ _

“What’s on your mind?” Steve spoke up.

Max jumped. “Nothing. Nothing of your business.”

“Nah, you’re on a different planet right now. What’s up?” Steve pushed.

“Well-” Max realized  _ ah what the hell  _ and figured why not spill her feelings. Billy would never listen to her. “You ever had someone tell you they like you a lot right before you leave to go somewhere?”

Steve nodded. “Sure.”

“What did you do?” Max asked.

“I went back.” 

Max looked down.

“Went back? To the person?” 

“Yep.” Steve sighed.

“But what about where you had to be?” 

“That didn’t matter. He- I mean- that person was my world. The only thing that mattered.”

Max shook her head. 

“Do you regret it?”

“Not at all. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like, leaving them, starting a whole new life. You and I? We’re quite similar.” Steve nudged Max.

But she didn’t care about what he was saying anymore. She wanted Ellie Jane. No, she  _ needed _ Ellie Jane. She needed her stupid pretty smile, her stupid cute laugh, her dumb hair and her dumb personality and…

_ Her. Just Her.  _

With a swift turn, Max started running through the trees, nearly tripping over sticks and tree roots and whatnot, running as fast as she could to get to that damn house and tell Ellie Jane that she wasn’t going anywhere, that her and Jane could live happily ever after and that they could hold hands and maybe even be more than just friends. But titles didn’t matter at the moment; she just wanted Ellie Jane.

  
  



	7. Confessions and Apologies [Chap. Six; Last Chapter]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last chapter! Hopefully I'll have a few other stories as well as the sequel to this story! The sequel is still not for sure but let me know what you guys think of this, and if I should do a sequel! The sequel would focus around Steve and Jonathan :)

“I think going out will really benefit you, Ellie Jane,” Mike was telling El as he and Will walked beside her, holding hands. Y’know, as  _ friends.  _

“Yeah, it’ll take the edge off things, for sure.” Will smiled, his face still slightly red from when Mike had grabbed his hand to his surprise.

“It’s not like doing drugs, dork.” Mike laughed at Will’s statement.

“Shut up,” Will snapped playfully. “But anyway, Steve should be back soon if she really did go to find him, and maybe when we return he’ll be here. We can ask him what happened.”

Ellie Jane only nodded, she couldn’t conjure up words to say. She was still far too shaken up to say anything. Still thinking about Max,  _ Unimportant, Unimportant.  _ But the crazy thing was that she was, in fact,  _ very important.  _ Especially to Ellie Jane. 

\--

Max didn’t stop to catch a break as she ran through the woods, not even as she heard Steve’s mother-like calls after her. She  _ had  _ to get to Jane before it was too late, before all hope was lost. Not that there was really any to lose; she was pretty sure Jane already hated her guts anyway. 

The only thing that kept her going was the thought of seeing Ellie Jane again, the most beautiful and sweet girl she had ever seen. Billy always told her that love at first sight wasn’t real, and no, it wasn’t necessarily love at first sight as Max had actually disliked Ellie Jane quite a bit at first, but they did come to like eachother a lot in these past few days. 

As the house came into view, Max felt a huge smile spread across her face. She bolted faster, and this was when she was grateful for not needing to breathe. Then again, it scared her, the fact of becoming a physical manifestation, because then she  _ would  _ need to breathe, and she was 100% certain that Jane would take her breath away everytime she saw her. 

Max ran through the door, and literally ran  _ through  _ it. Man, she would miss that little trick. 

“Where’s Jane? Where’s Ellie Jane Hopper??” Max called as she stood inside the house, and she called it loud enough that she was sure the whole world could hear. But that’s what she wanted to do, declare her affection for Ellie Jane Hopper to the world. 

Suddenly Lucas popped his head from the rails of the stairs up on the second floor.

“What are  _ you  _ doing here?” He hissed.

“I thought I made that obvious. I’m looking for Ellie Jane! Now tell me where she is or your head will be on a silver platter on  _ fire!”  _

Lucas gasped. “She went out with Mike and Will a few minutes ago! Jesus-”

“Thanks!” 

And with that Max was back through the door and taking off the direction Lucas had pointed.

She didn’t have to go far until she saw Ellie Jane and the boys walking. She smiled wide and started to charge faster, getting poised to tackle Jane.

“Jane!” She cried. “Jane!”

Ellie Jane turned around at the sound of her voice.

“Max?”

And after the word left her mouth she was tackled to the ground with Max on top of her, giggling.

“Why are you back? What are you-”

“I really like you too, Jane. And I’ll stay. I want to stay. I want to stay here with you.” Max was holding El’s hands, pinning them down beside her head.

“You like me? You do?” El gasped.

“Yes.” Max dipped her head down to press her lips against Ellie Jane’s, giggling as she did so. 

She took her lips from Jane’s and started to sit up, but before she could Jane grabbed Max’s face and pulled her back down to kiss her again, but this time more passionately. The kiss seemed to last for years and years, but in the best way ever; the kiss was sweet and calm and Max didn’t want it to end. But it did as El took her lips away to smile.

“You’re real.” She whispered.

“Only for you.” And that was true; Max would have definitely left if it wasn’t for Ellie Jane. 

“Hate to interrupt but Jonathan is getting home now and he’ll kill us so can we go home now?” Will asked, his hand still in Mike’s.

“Sure,” Ellie Jane laughed, being pulled up from the floor with the help of Max. She stuck out her hand. “Care to come with us?” 

“My pleasure.” Max took Jane’s hand and their fingers intertwined. They followed after Will and Mike back to the house, greeted by a very disgruntled Steve.

“What the  _ hell,  _ red?” Steve hissed, but when he saw El and Max’s hands together, his expression softened. “Well- okay whatever just get inside I don’t care.”

Max Mayfield couldn’t have been happier. Not only did she leave a shitty life, but now she has a new, far better one, one with a wonderful girlfriend and a nice household to live in.

Ellie Jane Hopper wasn’t your average girl. In fact, she was far from average. But that was okay with Max, because Max wasn’t your average girl either. And that’s what made them click so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop whoop! Happy endings for the win! Thank you for reading this and I hope you had a good, jolly ol' time!

**Author's Note:**

> So there was the prologue! It's a bit short but don't worry, what follows will be longer, I just wanted to make the point of what the story was about. Feedback on my writing and what I should fix is appreciated as well as comments and whatnot. If this does relatively well [and I know it's only the prologue but s ti l l] then I'll post the first chapter soon! Thank you!


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